I'm living off a woman in Arknights.

Page 101

The mask is the key to sealing the fragments of the evil spirit. After they die, a protective mechanism will be activated, and if anyone who is not one of their own tries to touch it, it will automatically shatter into dust. However, they did not have this function while they were alive, since each of the inner guards was not only strong but also possessed a self-destruct technique that could take others down with them.

After their self-destruction, their equipment, representing the pinnacle of Ursus technology and ritual, would leave not even ashes for the enemy.

So what if someone or some faction can capture the inner guard alive before he self-destructs and prevent him from self-destructing?

Normally, it is impossible for demonic power to be completely controlled.

Therefore, at this time, the inner guards only need to recall and imagine some scenes that cause their emotions to fluctuate violently, and they can use their emotions to cause the already unstable evil power to go out of control, causing annihilation and leaving it in the country, giving a heavy blow to those enemies who try to explore the secrets of the empire.

—Normally speaking.

Encountering a ghost story—the inner guard, whose mind was utterly broken by the demonic power, was on the verge of collapse. If the dragon on the other side were to slash him a few more times, his mask would definitely shatter, revealing the conspicuous ritual engravings on the inner wall.

It's no longer a matter of whether he lives or dies, but rather that the empire's secret is about to be exposed, and it's all because of him!

The guard's throat tightened at the thought, and he immediately wanted to raise his arm to block the mask and delay its shattering, but he forcibly suppressed this desire.

This will only make the opposing dragon realize that the mask is important and should absolutely not be used.

Suicide by knife or hand? He's too slow now. If he shows any suicidal tendencies, he could easily be knocked away with a knife or have his arm cut off, further depriving him of any means of resistance.

Suicide by biting one's tongue is even more impossible; its success rate is extremely low, and for a professionally trained bodyguard who can withstand prolonged suffocation and bleeding, the success rate would be infinitely close to zero.

After much deliberation, the inner guard realized that if he wanted to avoid revealing the empire's secrets, there was only one path with a low success rate but some possibility: "Yi-Long, let's talk!"

Upon hearing this, the faint light that had been gathering on the scabbard dissipated. She tucked the Crimson Sky sword back into her waistband and asked expressionlessly, "Answer my question."

The question from earlier? The corpse...

The guard with an exceptional memory tilted his head slightly. Through his mask, he could sense the active demonic power spreading from the intact corpse on the ground beside him.

The guard guessed that this was what the opposing team wanted to know, and fell silent again.

The power of evil must not be revealed to unrelated people.

Chen Huijie noticed his silence, her eyes darkened, and without saying a word, she put her hand on the sword hilt again. The guards tensed up instantly as if facing a formidable enemy.

Just as tensions were about to rise, the air in front of the inner guards distorted slightly for a moment, and a new inner guard appeared before the two of them.

Unaffected, Chen Huijie swung her sword and gave Inner Guard No. 2 a "warm" greeting.

The sword energy, like a crimson crescent moon, greedily pointed at the gap in the masks of the two inner guards. The new inner guards felt the power brewing within and their scalps tingled. Without thinking, they tried to raise their arms to draw their swords to cover their masks and deflect the sword energy.

But he discovered that even after his and his colleagues' masks were slashed with deep cracks, he still hadn't been able to complete the action he wanted to do.

—My body’s reactions have become extremely slow for some reason.

The new guard looked down in shock at his arm, which he had struggled to raise halfway, and the demonic power within it that was so stable that it was almost impossible to mobilize. His head trembled.

If it weren't for the fact that the experiment caused him to lose the relevant function, he would have been sweating profusely.

The former guard dared not move, his mask becoming increasingly precarious after each of the three increasingly severe blows.

The damage was so severe that if he dared to move it even slightly, it would completely shatter and show him what would happen.

As the two men were both looking grave, Chen Huijie twirled her sword and calmly glanced at them. "Tell me the truth about the corpses, and I promise I won't investigate your powers."

As she spoke, she finished spinning the sword in her scabbard, pointing the end directly at the two of them. "This is your last chance. If you don't provide any useful information, your masks will become our research material."

The two guards immediately sensed that something was very wrong.

The new guard couldn't help but glare at the old guard, who had actually made it clear how important their masks were—what a lack of manners!

The former guard was unaware of his colleague's thoughts; otherwise, he would have clearly told him that he had absolutely not leaked this information, and that he was also confused when the other party suddenly brought it up.

But regardless of their thoughts, the reality was that Chen Huijie suddenly gave them a powerful ultimatum, and they had no choice but to reveal the details of the body as she wished.

After all, the existence of demonic power is less important than the way it is used.

Knowing this, the former guard lowered his head and truthfully explained to Chen Huijie that the corpse was being corrupted by demonic power.

Meanwhile, behind Chen Huijie.

"OK, second one done." Yun Yi stretched and disconnected the Nirvana's piloting link, then turned to look at the icosahedron. "How's the situation?"

“Old Chen has pried out some intelligence.” Hoshiguma, carrying the shimmering Hannya, stared intently at the icosahedron, but immediately answered Yun Yi, “The inner guards possess unstable ‘demonic power’ within their bodies. After death, this special power will run rampant, eroding and assimilating their bodies, potentially causing a massive explosion or a restricted area.”

Yun Yi tilted his head. "I thought they would only self-destruct while they were alive, but it turns out they do it even after they're dead?"

The body of the inner guard sounded like a ticking time bomb; it seemed impossible to preserve it.

Fortunately, the Twenty-Sided Body imposes equal restrictions on the actions of any hostile entity within its ranks, including demonic forces, which is why the body of the bodyguard who died inexplicably was preserved.

As for why the demonic power was not suppressed further?

Before the internal health, this power was regarded by the rules as a special ability belonging to the internal health, and was naturally suppressed.

After the death of the inner guard, the demonic forces, which possessed a certain degree of independence, gained freedom.

They no longer belong to the inner guards; the rules treat them as independent, hostile entities, thus they are merely hindered in their actions.

Thinking that the results of the rules he created would likely be difficult to achieve outside, Yun Yi suddenly realized, "No wonder Swire said there has been no news of seeing the body of the inner guard. It turns out that once the inner guard dies, the body cannot be preserved."

Volume Two: Fireworks at Longmen: Chapter 188 Shi Huaiya: Even if your mind wanders, there are limits! Please, someone, don't go too far!

Yun Yi's words reached the ears of Shi Huai Ya Hu, who was standing to the side. She turned her ear to Yun Yi, observed the two guards, and said her judgment, "That's right. In addition, the other party has concealed some information."

Swire's tail, which was hanging by her legs, twitched slightly. She added confidently, "The so-called 'demonic power' will likely have other consequences, and I'm afraid their claim that it will 'immediately corrupt' is not entirely true."

"Could the erosion be delayed or not eroded at all?" Hoshiguma quickly came up with the relevant possibilities.

Yun Yi stroked his chin and gave his information, "In my memory, the Ursus Inner Guard is a unit that seals demonic fragments and guides their power to their own use, so do you think it's possible—"

"Roar—!" A sticky yet sharp cry, like flesh rubbing against metal, suddenly echoed through the space, suppressing Yun Yi's guess that was on the tip of his tongue.

The three women had been paying attention to the icosahedron to varying degrees, and thus quickly pinpointed the source of the strange noise—the corpse lying on the ground that suddenly and slowly arched its body, its robes slowly bulging out into several large bulges from the inside.

Beside it, two living guards were slowly moving away, their bodies turned to the side.

Chen Huijie held Chi Xiao upside down with an unchanged expression, her gaze fixed on the mutated corpse, not missing any detail on its body.

Under everyone's focused gaze, the corpse crawled up from the ground, leaving bloody marks with each step. The pipes connected to the mask broke one by one, and the red light in the gaps deepened. By the time the corpse stood upright, it had darkened to the point of being pure black.

The same color of air swirled and seeped into the mask through the gaps. The bulges under the corpse's clothes instantly began to grow larger and more numerous, tearing the robes apart. Beneath the flying debris, the inner guard's pale white body was stained with blood...

Suddenly, Swire reached out and circled around Yun Yi's head to her face, completely blocking her view.

Before Yun Yi could get a clear look at the body, her vision went dark. She couldn't help but tilt her head slightly. "Hmm?"

“The corpse has grown patches of black crystals, which should be formed by the condensation of ‘demonic power’ and Originium energy.” Swire did not respond to Yun Yi’s question, and casually recounted the current situation to her, “In addition to the crystals, the corpse’s skin is slowly rotting, and the flesh is proliferating, shaping the corpse into a non-human form.”

As Swire said, in the icosahedron, the body of the inner guard was no longer recognizable as human.

The red flesh and blood, stained with yellow fat and white tissue fluid mixed with pale yellow tissue fluid, along with the crisscrossing white fascia, surged and slowly devoured the crystals inserted into its body. A crack was pushed out of the mask from the inside, and a lifeless, blood-red eyeball could be clearly seen inside.

The corpse gradually became nothing more than mottled yellowish-white flesh and blood. The mask fell off its body and rolled to the side, while the backpack-like equipment was swallowed by it.

At that moment, black energy surged out from the flesh and blood, creating several large holes in the flesh that revealed the bones inside.

“The bones of the corpse have turned black.” Swire told Yunyi what she had seen.

“…Let me see it myself.” Yun Yi was curious about the black bone, but all she could see was darkness. She could smell the faint fragrance emanating from Shi Huaiya’s fingers and feel the warmth and smoothness of her fingertips.

They were pressed firmly against her eyelids and eyelashes, without pressing on Yunyi's eyes, but they still felt heavy, giving her a subtle sense of security.

It's a really novel feeling.

Yun Yi raised his hand and grasped Shi Huaiya's fingers, thinking to himself, but he also felt a little awkward. Why did he have to cover her eyes? What was it that she couldn't see?

Unseen by Yun Yi, within the icosahedron, black mist stained the corpse's flesh and blood into a metallic black. Black bones grew outward from the cave, turning several times to form a crude yet grotesque bone armor that reflected a cold light, also concealing the victim's mangled and vital parts.

Just then, Yun Yi forcefully tried to move Swire's hand away, and Swire released her hand to restore her vision. "There's nothing to see, just a deformed monster."

"Huh?" Yun Yi blinked in surprise as her eyes lit up. She held Swire's hand and looked at the icosahedron eagerly. Never mind, she wanted to take this opportunity to see what she couldn't see.

The striking corpse was now entirely black, with hideous bone armor, twisted black mist, and glossy black skin texture protruding with fascia and pustules.

Its head was shrouded in black mist, obscuring its appearance. Its body, like a ghost, twisted and turned, clumsily using both hands and feet to rush towards the two guards who were far away. Due to its restricted movement, it was not fast at all, making it look quite comical.

Yun Yi immediately thought of a slow-motion video he had seen on short videos in his previous life, where a husky was running towards the camera with its four limbs all pointing towards it, looking silly and amused. His brain instantly blocked out the disgusting sight of the corpse and he couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"Huh?" Swire looked at her with a puzzled expression.

She glanced at the corpse of the guard, which was covered in a dizzying, nauseating black mist, and teeming with pustules oozing thick pus, exuding a bloodthirsty madness as it charged toward the inner guards. Then she glanced at Yun Yi, who was smiling genuinely.

Shi Huaiya's tiger ears drooped slightly, her gaze gradually turning worried, and her tail involuntarily wrapped around Yun Yi's wrist hanging at his side. "Are you alright? Did you trigger your brain's automatic protection mechanism?"

"No, no, I just thought it was a bit funny." Yun Yi stopped laughing and answered with a smile, gently squeezing Shi Huaiya's palm and stroking her wonderfully soft tail. "Don't worry, I'm fine."

"Funny? How can you laugh at such a disgusting scene?" After confirming that Yun Yi's brain wasn't overwhelmed by the scene, Swire touched Yun Yi's forehead with her other hand, clearly suspecting that there was something wrong with her brain.

Yun Yi shook his head, shook off her hand, and looked back at Shi Huaiya with clear eyes. "I just thought of a funny scene of a puppy running around that I had seen before, and I felt that this corpse looked a lot like that funny puppy, so I laughed."

As she spoke, she turned to look at the two corpses circling inside the icosahedron, one of which was a group of zero-elemental worms.

Yun Yi originally intended to deepen his association with the other party's comical running posture, but he was shocked by the strange rotten and decaying aura that the other party could sense from a distance.

The nauseating smell instantly washed away the filter created by the video in her mind, allowing her to see the filth and depravity on the other person's body.

Yun Yi couldn't help but look away in disgust. "But you're right, upon closer inspection, it really is quite ugly."

"That means you're normal now. You can lump a puppy together with such a disgusting corpse. Ask Hoshiguma if that makes sense." Swire rolled her eyes at her, twitched her tiger ears, and with her neck red, pulled back her hand and the tail that had inexplicably run to Yun Yi's hand.

The outer fur of the tiger's tail was slightly coarse and cool, while the inner fur was soft and warm, brushing against Yunyi's skin. The two completely different sensations made her feel a subtle itch that spread to her heart.

Yun Yi rubbed his fingertips together wistfully, then looked at Hoshiguma, who remained on guard, a hint of doubt in his eyes. "Hoshiguma, is this association really unreasonable?"

"Even ignoring the corpse's disgusting appearance, its and the puppy's movements have a kind of immature and chaotic quality, like they haven't even learned to run yet, don't they?" Yun Yi asked, glancing at Swire, a hint of resentment flashing in his golden-red eyes.

Volume 2: Fireworks at Lungmen: Chapter 189 (Main plot somewhat attached) Hoshiguma: Suitability is the most important thing

“Miss Yunyi, if you yourself agree, then this association is reasonable. I don’t need to define it for you.” Hoshiguma looked at the twisted and ugly corpse with an unchanging expression, his golden eyes widening slightly. “Instead of exploring whether the association is reasonable or not, perhaps you could tell us about the ‘Demon Fragment’ first?”

Yun Yi was surprised. She turned to look at Shi Huaiya, a hint of doubt flashing in her eyes, "The Demon Fragments are the fragments left behind after the Demons were defeated... Does this need an explanation?"

Isn't the demon one of the major external calamities that have struck Terra?

She remembered that in the game's setting, Ursus invested a lot of resources, including the inner guard, to block the invasion of the demons on the border. Logically speaking, shouldn't everyone in Terra have some understanding of such a disaster that concerns the survival of the entire Terra and ties up a large number of Ursus's combat forces every year?

As it turns out, Yunyi was not as good as he seemed.

At least for now, none of the three people in front of her had any idea about this.

Swire crossed her arms at Yun Yi's puzzled expression, raised her tiger tail, and poked Yun Yi's arm from her side. "Of course it's necessary. What does the term 'demon' represent? What is the root cause of that ominous black aura on the corpse?"

"Well... I'm not really sure either. All I know is that the demons are evil creatures that invaded from outside Terra, and the inner guards did indeed use demon fragments." Yun Yi scratched her face, it was too much to ask her to explain the fragmented information in the plot with a single skip.

She could only vaguely recount some scattered information that should be correct: "The demons have been invading the border between Ursus and another country for many years. They have bizarre and powerful abilities and are extremely corrosive. The current state of the corpses should be due to the corruption caused by the demons' power."

Hearing the conversation, Chen Huijie flicked her drooping dragon tail, suddenly raised her sword and unleashed a sword aura that trailed light and shadow, questioning the guard, "Is what she said right or wrong?"

As she questioned him, the sword energy pierced through the icosahedron, grazed the new inner guard who was dodging the attack of the corpse, and tore open a bloody gash in his tightly wrapped robe.

The fresh smell of blood instantly spread throughout the icosahedron, and the corpse became visibly excited upon sensing it.

Its head, hidden in the black mist, suddenly lit up with a blood-red light. It immediately abandoned the old guard who had been harassing it with a knife, and its limbs suddenly grew longer with a "crack".

The corpse was lifted up, greatly increasing its attack range. It was wrapped in an eerie aura, and its twisted, unrecognizable forelimbs viciously clawed at the bleeding wounds of the new inner guard.

The new guard was slow to react due to the restriction of his movement. He couldn't dodge in time and was stabbed in the wound on his waist by a claw. Then, the corpse that had been pressing up on him locked him tightly with its body like a facehugger.

The new guard's face under his mask immediately turned bright red. This injury was nothing to a guard, but the problem was that the corpse was entangled with fully awakened and corrupted demonic power!

At that moment, he only felt a cold pulse from the wound, and his entire lower body seemed paralyzed and numb.

Worse still, the fluctuations resonated with the temporarily docile demonic power within him, attempting to wrest control of the power from his grasp.

The new guards desperately tried to muster their strength and wield their swords in resistance, but it was all in vain under the suppression of this space. They could only watch helplessly as the monsters that had resurrected their comrades endlessly sucked away and devoured the power, blood, and even flesh within their bodies.

Just as the new guard was about to be sucked until his eyes rolled back, the old guard finally returned. He decisively stabbed the corpse in the heart from the side with his knife and flung it away. Then he used the knife to push the corpse forward and slammed it into the transparent wall of an icosahedron.

The moment the corpse touched the wall imbued with intense restraint, its entire body stiffened, and its mutated forelimbs briefly lost control, allowing the newly recruited guards, who were barely holding on, to seize the opportunity and sever them with their swords.

The new guard, clutching the white wound on his waist, knelt on one knee and ruthlessly stabbed the wound with a backhand, digging out a large chunk of flesh containing wisps of black energy and discarding it aside.

Through the hole he had torn open himself, one could vaguely see his bloody, tangled intestines.

The new guard pulled out a special black bandage from his robe, intending to tie it on himself, but sensed through his mask that Chen Huijie had raised his sword again, the tip of which was gleaming.

The new guard, whose head was spinning from being sucked by the corpse, finally remembered that besides the sword strike that made their survival more difficult, the other side had also asked a question. Now, it was clear that they hadn't gotten an answer and were planning to strike again.

If the opponent were to strike again, he would surely die.

It's alright if he dies, but I'm afraid that this godforsaken place will free up space because of his death and will continue to absorb the inner guards.